Parkour is an extreme sport that requires incredible athleticism, dedication, strength, and above all – guts! It’s a training discipline where athletes aim to get from one point to another in a complex environment – usually utilising both natural and city spaces – without assisting equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
View this post on Instagram
Essentially, Parkour takes on Tarzan-like abilities whereby participants take ‘living life on the edge’ to a whole new level. And its popularity is growing rapidly, without a doubt thanks to social media. Videos of these athletes are hardwired to create viral content, with viewers holding their breath and pinching their butt cheeks at every building ledge and backflip.
Recently, a Parkour legend visited our beautiful Mother City, giving the Cape’s natural and engineered landscapes a whole new purpose.
View this post on Instagram
Meet Red Bull’s Dominic Di Tommaso, hailing from Sydney, who is part of the elite Team Farang group of freerunners that also includes Jason Paul and Pasha Petkuns.
View this post on Instagram
Di Tommaso, or ‘Domtomato’ as he’s known as, started freerunning back in 2007 following a background in ballet and figure skating, and a full-time job as a garbage man.
He trains with Crew 42 and became a part of Team Farang in 2016, having known them since back in 2011, and he’s been a regular at Red Bull Art of Motion in recent years. Red Bull Art of Motion is the highest-profile freerunning competition.
View this post on Instagram
During the growing pains of new art, freerunners were few and far between, spread out across many countries and continents. To connect with each other, most freerunners would film themselves training and share it online. Farang was hungry for inspiration, watching every single minute of new tricks and styles of moving they could find.
“For us though, it wasn’t enough to be passive consumers of this booming culture of physical expression. We knew we had to travel great distances to find like-minded people who loved to move and saw the world differently as we did. As a huge playground. As something to be explored and rediscovered daily. In a world where we feel like there’s nothing new to be found, we uncovered new worlds in our own urban back yards.
“That’s how Farang came about. We were a group of friends from different corners of the globe coming together to travel, explore and create. All too often we’d find ourselves sleeping shoulder to shoulder with a dozen friends on the floor of some apartment in a foreign land, eagerly anticipating whatever adventure would present itself.”
Farang means foreigner. Outsider.
“Although it’s usually spoken with demeaning undertones, we found it empowering. Being in the mind of an outsider means seeing the world with fresh eyes. Being outside the norm is a chance to live creatively, and love what you do. Life is too valuable to waste time doing what you’re not passionate about and we want to use our time to create and experience the lifestyle freerunning has to offer us.”
Tommaso says: “I love freerunning, it gives me an outlet for my passion in movement without the restrictions or guidelines I found in other organised sports.
“It excites me to know that the possibilities are seemingly endless. I’m so happy to be a part of the community that advocates support and progression for each and every freerunner involved.”
During his visit to Cape Town, the parkour athlete made some local dreams come true, fuelling the growing passions of many young freerunners living in the Mother City. Noa Duxbury (12) – parkour champ in training – shared the following in Instagram.
“L E G E N D S. It’s not every day that you get to meet one. I shattered my arm two years ago and thought I was going through the worst time ever but 2021 was having a laugh at me, just waiting around the corner to show me what struggling is really all about. l’ve seen 12 different medical specialists this year and it’s been a rough road with me missing almost half the year of school. Meeting @domtomato was the pick-me-up that I really needed to get through the next couple of months.”
View this post on Instagram
Check out the video Tommaso shared on his YouTube channel of a gutsy group lesson, right here in Cape Town. Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the weird watercolour, we’ve got you covered.
Read also: Why the V&A Waterfront has been looking like the Seychelles
WATCH:
Also read:
Red Bull DIY and Pieter Retief are skateboarding into our hearts, and Khayelitsha
Picture: Red Bull content pool